As the construction and housing markets continue to improve around the Flathead Valley, Kalispell is leaping ahead of last year’s mark.

The city of Kalispell has issued 112 residential building permits through September this year, up from 52 permits issued at this time last year. According to Kalispell Planning and Building Director Tom Jentz, the demand for entry-level housing in the Flathead is warming up the real estate market.

“It’s primarily single-family and two-unit townhouses,” Jentz said. “Those have been really hot this summer.”

This year’s permit count is already gaining ground on the most recent high mark in 2013, which had the most permits issued since 2008. The city building department issued 125 new residential permits in 2013, compared to 98 in 2012. Single-family housing carried the majority of those permits at 108, compared to just 54 in 2012.

Jentz said the recent development growth has been driven by a demand for housing as buyers gain confidence in the market. Large-scale projects, like the 96-unit Bloomstone complex recently completed near Glacier High School, have been developed after buyers put their money down to secure a home.

“Coming out of the recession and as we move forward, it’s gotten much more acute in that shortage,” he said. “This is not a speculative market. These are being built because they’ve already been sold.”

Jim Kelly, owner and senior appraiser at Kelly Appraisal, said there is a sharp demand for homes under the median price, which at the end of August was about $253,000 in Flathead County. Kelly said of the nearly 1,300 properties currently on the market in Flathead County, only 238 are priced at or below the median.

“There just isn’t that much of an inventory underneath there,” Kelly said. “If new construction were to build for something around $200,000 to $250,000, it’s very salable and there’s various demand for it.”

The building boom continues a trend from last year. According to data published by the Bureau of Business, 2015 saw a 7.8 percent increase in construction activity in Kalispell over 2014. That number is poised for another hike considering the projects already underway.

Other large projects on the table include the $7.7 million, 75-unit student housing development at Flathead Valley Community College that’s under construction.

Looking ahead, a 96-unit complex near Airport Road has been submitted to the city by the same developer as the Bloomstone project. The project, which has stirred an initial negative response from some neighbors, was set to go to the City Planning Board for review Oct. 11, but that date has been pushed back.

Despite the boom in entry-level housing, Jentz said the rental market remains a large hole in Flathead housing

“We’re still not scratching the surface of the need for rental housing,” he said. “Our market has been the single-family house that people have bought at a good price, turned around and rented it. We just don’t have rental houses or apartments. There’s always been a shortage of that market.”

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.